Shadows and Meadows
by Angelmuse
Summary: Bella and Edward encounter some very powerful vampires with very unique abilities. Evil has a way of reaching through time.......and the Cullens' future could be in grave danger. R & R, please! AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****: I do not own any rights to The Twilight Saga, or any of the characters. All rights belong to Stephenie Meyer, and no copyright infringement is intended, now, nor at any time in the future.**

**This story might strike readers as a bit unusual, even within the context of what is ALREADY unusual. It's an AU story, and contains elements of SF. Some really strange things take place in it. **

**This is my first Twilight story. I have previously written several Phantom of the Opera stories.**

**A/N: The prologue starts off during Bella's happy marriage to Edward, in "Breaking Dawn", then moves into the past when she decides to spend a Saturday afternoon reading one of her diaries. I am referring, of course, to her first one -- the novel, "Twilight".**

**I would love it if you posted any comments you think would be either encouraging and helpful. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Prologue: Memories**

In the middle of all my college schoolwork, that rainy Saturday afternoon, I suddenly decided to take a look back. Edward thought it was a cute holdover from my days as a human. Of course, the pillow I threw at his head didn't even come close to grazing him. Another very human trait -- pillow fights. Edward wisely declined to indulge. I always won, even against Emmett.

I've kept diaries throughout our very unusual relationship, but it was just the other day that I got curious about what I'd written back in the day, when living in Forks felt like a life term sentence. I guess I wanted to remember how I felt, as a human, going through all the events Edward and I had to endure and overcome.

So I went up into our attic, doing my best to ignore Edward's teasing. He jokingly threatened to go tell Alice, even. I laughed, telling him he was hitting below the belt, and asked him if he wasn't curious about my human viewpoint of the famous Edward Cullen.

He said that he was curious, after all. Then he added that he was looking forward to reading all the parts where I kept falling down, so he could enjoy how he had to keep picking me up, then kissing me. I sighed dramatically. I never could stay mad at Edward. I still can't. Besides, I have to be careful. I'm stronger now. I wouldn't want to hurt him. I snickered at the thought.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked, with his own snicker, as Renesmee softly patted his face. He turned gently to her, and smoothed back her hair, placing a light kiss on the top of her head. "Okay, sweetie, Daddy will play with you in just another sec. I have to get an answer to my question from Mommy first."

'Well?" he persisted, smiling as he turned to me.

I was going up the stairs toward the attic, but paused to face him. "Oh, I don't know.... I guess I was just wondering what would be more enjoyable -- making out with you for three hours, or giving you a taste of your own medicine...."

He snickered again. "You know that's a no-brainer, right? I'm totally irresistible!"

I had to sigh, trying not to let my grin show. I failed. "Yes, Edward, you are....and you also have the biggest vampire head in the universe! Love you anyway!" I blew a kiss down at him.

His good-natured laughing followed me all the way up into the attic.

I took a long look around as I entered the room, which was very spacious. We had made sure of that, because I'm the type who loves to store memories. Becoming a "bloodsucker", as Jacob would call me (but not to my face) hasn't changed that. And I intend to store plenty of memories of my daughter's growing up. After all, she'll be doing that for a while.

I knew exactly where the diaries were. I had carefully placed them in the trunk in which I used to keep toys as a child. Edward and Emmett had brought it up for me.

The trunk was in a corner at the far end of the attic. I held my breath as I approached it. Then I had to remember to start breathing again, once I knelt in front of it. It was unlocked, so I only had to lift the lid.

There they were -- all my diaries. I carefully lifted them out. Then I carried them over to the nearest window, and settled on the wide ledge to read.

Even before I opened the first volume, memories were drifting through my mind. I recalled my first sight of Forks, which had then struck me as a very dreary, depressing place. I could see my ancient red truck, Charlie's face lighting up when I told him I loved it. And then, I saw Edward, sitting in the cafeteria, with Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie around him. He looked at me for the first time.... I shivered.

I was back in the present again, if only briefly, thankful that the beautiful boy I had fallen in love with was all mine, for all eternity, and that he had given me my precious, gifted little girl.

I opened the diary at random, and traveled back into my tortured past. Within minutes, the tears were coursing down my cheeks. Yet, I couldn't stop reading.

I became immersed in the twisted threads of my existence.

As I turned the page, Nessie suddenly screamed.

I jumped up immediately. The floor became an ondulating wave while

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The manuscript ends abruptly at this point. The diaries themselves are intact, but that may change, pending stabilization of the current ripples across the space-time continuum.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: Ditching**

As I took my seat in Biology Lab, I looked around the room. There was no sign of him. I figured he might simply be late today. The funny thing was that I'd never known Edward to be late for school. I felt a slight shiver travel up and down my spine. I just couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that something had happened in the past few days.

I tried, and failed, to cheer myself up. Maybe the hunting just hadn't been that spectacular on this particular trip, or some other minor thing like that. Anything to keep my spirits up. I didn't want to speculate on what weird vampire activity might have taken Edward away from me -- for the third time this month. But then, I was getting used to weirdness by now.

I had to stop feeling sorry for myself. Maybe Jacob would...but I couldn't tell him about this. Edward's true nature was something not even Jacob could know. Then I remembered the Quileute legends Jacob had told me, about "the cold ones". But he had made it obviousl that he didn't really believe them. How ironic that he had told me the truth, without meaning to.

I felt a soft thud at my elbow, and looked down. I had been completely wrapped up in my thoughts. A paper airplane sat next to my right elbow, on the table. Looking up, I noticed Mike Newton frantically waving at me from across the room. I ducked my head, grinning in spite of myself, just before Mr. Banner, the Biology teacher, breezed in the way he always did.

I quickly grabbed the airplane, hiding my hands under the table. I opened it slowly, staring straight ahead, pretending to listen to Mr. Banner as he announced our project for the day.

When I had it open, I looked down. The message read:

"Hey, haven't seen ol' Ed in days. You guys break up? If so, remember I'm available again!" -- Your hopeful Mike"

I looked over at him, and caught him staring at me with that puppy-dog look of his. As soon as our eyes met, he looked away, suddenly embarrassed. I tried not to smirk. It was kind of sweet, the way he kept hoping against hope. I should have been annoyed by his persistence, but I couldn't be.

I made a mental note to have a little talk with Jessica again. I knew she was still mad at him, but I doubted they would stay broken up for very long. Jess just needed some lessons on how to handle men, from someone who was madly in love with a one-hundred-eight-year old male. The fact that Edward wasn't human really didn't matter. Besides, I also had Charlie as an example of the male species. That should make me something of an expert.

The class dragged and dragged. I missed Edward sitting next to me, alternately whispering his outrageous jokes to me, and just...looking at me in that delicious way that nearly melted my bones. Before Edward, Biology had never come even close to being a subject I liked. Without him here, it was nearly unbearable.

I made up my mind to simply endure the class. My thoughts kept drifting to Edward, to how incredibly wonderful we both felt when we were together. I tried to push away any objections to our love, which persistently nagged at me from time to time. I repeatedly told myself that we were 'fated to be'. We were the Romeo and Juliet of the 21st century. I hoped _we_ would have a happy ending, at least.

Mike was, of course, already waiting for me at the door when the bell rang. I had decided on a plan, and started by telling him that I wasn't feeling well. I met his expected offer of help by asking him not to wait for me; I was headed straight for the girls' restroom. He gave me a worried look, and offered to wait for me until I finished. I shook my head, telling him not to bother, that I would be all right. It took some convincing, but he finally agreed to just meet up with me in the cafeteria later, with the rest of our group.

Little did poor Mike know that I had no intention of going to the cafeteria. I would get excused for the rest of the day, and go find out why Edward had apparently disappeared off the face of the earth. I was hoping it wouldn't be anything permanent. I was also hoping that I hadn't had anything to do with it, but the thought kept nagging at me that maybe he had started having doubts about our relationship. Maybe I just wasn't...well, good enough for him.

Why I was torturing myself with such musings I had no idea. Or maybe I did. It was obvious that Edward was everything a guy could be. Why would he want to have an accident-prone girlfriend, someone who was so completely ordinary?

Getting excused was a cinch. I guess being a klutz has its advantages at times.

I got to my truck well before any of my friends knew I was leaving. Putting it in gear, I listened to the roar of the engine for a couple of seconds before pulling out. I turned on the headlights, because a heavy mist had descended on Forks this morning, and had not lifted as the day progressed. I hit the gas pedal as soon as I left the parking lot, although I knew it wouldn't do much good. The truck's top speed was 55 mph.

I had not given much thought to how I would get to the Cullen house by myself. After all, I had only been there once. All I could think of was that I had to find out why Edward hadn't been coming to class, especially since there hadn't been any sun for more than a week.

As I drove along, surrounded by the profusion of wet green that was so ubiquitous in Forks, I kept going over our relationship in my mind. Had I said anything that had caused him to put some distance between us, perhaps? Or had it been a private matter? I shuddered to think that he might have decided he couldn't control his predatory nature around me any longer. In that case, I suppose I should be grateful that he had a conscience. It wasn't much comfort, though. Being away from him was already painful to me, even though we hadn't known each other for very long. I even felt his presence in my bedroom when I woke up in the morning, even though I knew that was totally ridiculous. Still, the other day I couldn't help looking in my closet, and under my bed, just in case. I just couldn't shake off the feeling that he was, or had been, in the room. I didn't find him, of course.

I was driving along just fine when something flashed past me, at lightning speed. My heart skittered. Had it been Edward, coming to check up on me, but not wanting me to know that he was doing so? I promptly dismissed the thought as being too ridiculous. Maybe some strange bird had flown by, one I'd never heard of. After all, I had never lived anywhere near heavily forested lands.

So I chugged along, my thoughts in a whirl. And then another whatever-it-was flashed past me, again at lightning speed. I looked in my rearview mirror. Nothing but generic Forks mist behind me, same as in front. My headlights weren't picking out much ahead of me, on the road.

And then the unexpected hit. My wonderful truck conked out on me. I couldn't believe it. I began to wonder whether Jacob had slipped up. But then, this truck had been his father Billy's sole means of transportation, before the accident had permanently confined him to a wheelchair.

I slowly opened the door on the driver's side. I was thinking that a hose might have come loose. Charlie had, after all, taught me a thing or two about cars, although only very elementary stuff. If it was more than that, though, I would have to walk back to town and get one of the guys to take a look at the truck. If Charlie found out about my little escapade, I didn't know what he would do. He was a firm believer in the value of education. In his view, ditching school was out, unless there was a dire emergency. Of course, I felt that there was.

I had just stepped out of the truck when yet another of those things whizzed past. The sudden wind it whipped up forced the door against me.

My heart thumped against my ribs, and I just froze where I stood, for a few minutes. I noticed how everything around me had gotten absolutely still. No birds could be heard in the trees. The fierce wind had died down as suddenly as it had started, too.

Then the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. An oppresive feeling of doom came over me. I forced myself to step back into the truck, since my muscles were reluctant to obey me.

Once back in the driver's seat, I shut the door. I was trembling with fear. What could those weird whizzing things possibly have been? I had never felt so alone. Heck, even Mike Newton's company was preferable to this sense of utter loneliness that had now descended on me!

i sat there for a few minutes, debating with myself whether I should get out ot fhe truck and open the hood to check the engine, or try to get back to town on foot. What if one of the weird things came after me, though?

After a moment's indecision, I came to the conclusion that I had to take a look at the engine, at least. So I opened the door, and stepped out of the truck again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2: The Unthinkable**

As I stepped onto the road, I looked around warily. If any more of those weird whizzing things came by, I hoped I'd be able to get back inside the truck without any problems.

The familiar Forks drizzle lay on the thick trees lining the sides of the road. And the mist had descended so unexpectedly, too. I don't remember when I had last used my headlights in the middle of the day. And my truck had picked this exact moment to die on me. Lucky, lucky Bella! Here I was, stuck somewhere on the road to the Cullen house, with nobody to bail me out. Well, I suppose I had to stand on my own two feet _sometime._ But I wished Edward were here right now. How sily of me....

I wasn't getting anything solved just standing here, next to my inactive truck. I might as well take a look at the engine. Sighing, I trudged over to the hood. I was able to open it after some initial difficulty. Then I had to exert all my strength to lift it. Charlie hadn't thought of this possibility when he gave me the truck.

The engine looked fine. I checked the oil, wiping the dipstick off on a glossy leaf I took from one of the nearby trees. The oil level was fine. I moved on to the hoses. Gingerly feeling them and jiggling them about, I could see that they were fine, too. They didn't seem to have any punctures or anything. The battery was next. After I had confirmed that the battery fluid was also at the correct level, I grabbed some more leaves, and tried to check out the radiator. Maybe it was out of water. But wait.....the truck would have overheated, in that case. I would have seen smoke coming out of the engine. Instead, it had simply _died_.

The radiator lid was much too hot to handle just yet, even with the several layers of leaves I was holding. I would have to wait until the truck cooled down to try to twist the lid open. I had a gallon of water in the back of the cab.

Discarding the used leaves, I tore off some more, wiping the grease off my hands as well as I could. I would have to stock my glove compartment with rags, in the event this happened again. I really should have thought of it sooner.

What else could I do? Oh, of course.... the problem _had_ to be electrical. It now seemed completely obvious. In that case, I was _really_ up the creek! Although I had jumper cables, too, there was no other car in sight. And there wasn't much traffic on this road, I had noticed as I drove. That was probably due to the mist.

Well, that was it, then. I would get my stuff, and just try to get my bearings so I could head back to town on foot. Trying to get to the Cullen house had been a stupid idea, and my truck was not cooperating. For a second or two, I pondered the possibility that Charlie himself might have rigged this on purpose, to teach me a lesson. Then I discarded the thought. He wouldn't have wanted to have me stranded, alone, on the road, where who knows what or who could come along. Like those whizzing things.

I had just gotten back into the truck when I realized, as I looked at the dashboard, that the lights were back on. How could that be? The truck had gone dead on me. But, strangely, the lights were on! I was sure they had been out, a minute ago.

I grabbed the ignition key and turned it. The engine roared to life right away. This was totally crazy!

After putting the truck in gear, I continued driving along, looking for the spot where I would turn off the road. A debate was now going on inside my head. One part of me (the sane part) kept insisting that I couldn't just waltz in on a family of vampires, even if I was in love with one of their members. The other part of me kept insisting, just as hard, that I had to find out what was up with Edward. H_e_ was obviously not going to tell me. Of course, there was Alice, whom I had a feeling would soon become my very best friend. I could certainly pump her for information. But would she choose to tell me?

I kept driving. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and turned on the radio. Maybe some music would drown out the voices in my head.

That was when I heard it.

_"We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for breaking news. The entire town of Forks has just been hit by an unexplained natural disaster. Most of the houses have been destroyed by mysterious winds packing speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. The town is littered with bodies -- men, women and children. Preliminary reports confirm that not all of them were victims of the strange storm. Some of the bodies have been totally drained of blood...."_

I slammed on the brakes, and the truck screeched to a halt. I leaned my head on the wheel, already hyperventilating. I couldn't think, couldn't do anything for several minutes. The newscaster went on to say that a state of emergency had been declared, but I couldn't hear anything else after that, because my ears were roaring like my truck engine, and I felt that I was going to faint. It couldn't have been the Cullens. My brain simply refused to take that in. They had Carlisle's philosophy. They would _never_.... Then a coherent thought took hold: Charlie.

That was enough. I turned the truck around and went back to town, as fast as it would allow me to move.

I shut off the radio. I didn't want to hear any more details. The information I'd been given was enough.

I drove straight into town, heading for the police station. I might find Charlie there, although on second thought, I realized that he would probably be someplace where he could try to get some clues as to what had happened. He would probably be needed to help round up survivors, too.

I stared, automatically slowing down, as the first images of the town hit me. Most of the buildings that had been there as I had driven away earlier were no longer standing. They had been turned into rubble. Trees had been uprooted, and some had fallen on cars, smashing them. A siren blared somewhere. Rescue workers were walking around, looking for survivors, and groups of people were walking aimlessly around too, in a daze.

I spotted a police cruiser in the next block, and drove toward it. There was an officer standing next to it, writing out a report.

A few feet from the cruiser, I put the truck in 'parking', and dashed out. "Dad!" I yelled.

When the cop turned around, I saw it wasn't Charlie. He looked at me, and I could see from his shocked expression that someting was wrong.

I ran up to him. "Have you seen....?"

He reached for me. "Now, Ms. Swan, please calm down. Maybe you should sit inside the car."

"Where's Charlie?!" I screamed, totally out of control. I had lost it. I knew, I just knew, what was coming....

He gently grabbed my arms, looking away from me as he steered me toward the cruiser.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Swan...."

And then I fainted.

********

When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. Somebody's face swam into view. It was that of Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

"Bella, can you hear me?" His face came closer to mine, and I could hear the anxiety in his voice.

"Yes," I mumbled. And then I began to cry.

"Come here, Bella," he said softly, sitting on the bed beside me, and pulling me into his arms. "Go ahead and cry. Let it all out. I'm right here for you."

I don't know how long I cried, but he patiently stayed with me, just holding me in his arms. He said nothing the whole time, but I felt the strength of those arms, the security of being enclosed in the embrace of someone who cared, _really_ cared.

At last, I could cry no more.

He gently started to pull away, and then, as Esmee herself might have done, he smoothed my hair. Then he offered me some tissues.

"Bella," he whispered, looking directly into my eyes. "You're coming to stay with us for a while. Okay?"

The tears welled up in my eyes again. "I....want....to....see him." They flowed out of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks.

"It would be better if you didn't, Bella. Trust me." I had never seen his face looking so grim in all the time I had known him. In fact, he had always struck me as a very easy-going, happy person, ironically enough. Now he really looked like a vampire.

"Please," I whispered.

"No," he replied. "You should remember him as he was. Besides, you're in shock right now."

I started crying in earnest again. "Carlisle....how....did....this...." I choked. Then I could say nothing more.

He motioned to someone outside my line of vision. "Ms. Watson," I heard him say, "please bring me the...." and he mentioned some drug I had never heard of, with an almost unpronounceable name.

A few seconds later, he took one arm from around my shoulders as the nurse handed something to him. Then he spoke to me again.

"All right, Bella. I'm giving you a sedative. You're staying right here, and getting some rest. Alice and Jasper are on their way right now. There's also security outside your door. And I won't be far. Sleep now."

He smoothed the hair back from my forehead, and eased me down onto the bed. I groaned as my head made contact with the pillow. I must have hit it on something when I fainted.

He stayed with me, holding my hand, as the drug took effect, and I drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3: Conundrum**

I stirred the eggs in the bowl, thinking of Edward. I was planning to try again today, crazy as it was. Of course, I would tell Charlie that I was going over to Jessica's house to study for a _very_ important exam. He had to go into town on some routine police business.

"Dad! Breakfast in two minutes!" I called out.

As I carefully flipped the omelette with the spatula, I heard his steps on the stairs. Humming softly to myself, I jiggled the frying pan. The stupid omelette was taking much too long to cook.

"You sound very cheery today, Bells," Charlie remarked. "Big plans with Edward?"

I turned, trying to look a little morose. "Naw, I gotta go study with Jessica. But we're both planning to take in a movie when we finish studying."

There was a sudden knock on the door. I froze, spatula in hand.

"You expecting someone?" Charlie looked at me meaningfully.

I tried to shrug nonchalantly, and went to open the door. But I was moving in slow motion. It was all I could do to lift one foot, and then the other. Then Charlie said something, and his speech slurred, like he was speaking in slow motion, too.

And then the door burst open, and Edward was there. But it wasn't Edward. At least, not the Edward I knew. He was all bloody, and his fangs were out. His _fangs._ Something I had never seen.

Then everything sort of speeded up. Edward roared, and came running in. Charlie got up at the same time, walking toward the living room. And then.........Edward lunged............at Charlie.

I screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

"Bella! Bella!" I opened my eyes, to find Carlisle leaning over me, shaking me awake.

"You were having a nightmare, sweetheart," he explained, unnecessarily, as I blinked at him. I was trembling, and couldn't seem to stop.

Then I felt another hand on my arm. I looked over to my right, and saw it was Alice. Disappointment stabbed at me for a brief moment, but then everything came back to me. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. My throat suddenly felt constricted, raw.

"Bella," Alice said, sitting on a chair that had been placed next to the bed, 'I'm here. You're not alone. We're all here for you. We're your family now."

I turned my face away from her. I didn't want to see or talk to anyone. I had awakened from a nightmare, to be confronted by another. But this one was real. This one wouldn't go away even if someone tried to shake me awake.......

"Carlisle, we really need Jasper here," Alice whispered.

"Do you really think he can help? She's suffered a major loss. When do you see him coming?"

"Well, he said he was going out this morning, to take a look around. He should be here pretty soon."

'What about Emmett?"

"I can't see him at all." Alice looked uncharacteristically frustrated.

"Just like Bella? But what does that mean? Have you lost.......?"

Alice interrupted. "No, of course I haven't lost my power. But I can't see Edward, or Bella. I don't know what they might or might not do. And now I can't see Emmett, either. It's really bothering me."

"Can you see anybody else?"

"Yes. I can see you, and Esmee, and Jasper. But not Edward, Bella, or Emmett."

I turned to Alice. This was getting worse by the minute.

"Where's.......Edward?" I managed to mumble.

Alice turned to me. "He......has been going through a difficult time, Bella. He got some crazy notion that he had to get away from you, that you needed to meet someone else, someone human. So he went up to Denali for a while. We tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen."

"But......but......." My brain was refusing to function.

"Easy, Bella," Carlisle cautioned.

Alice put a soothing hand on my forehead. "I know how that makes you feel. But let me tell you, it wasn't easy on him, either. He finally realized that he can't live without you, and decided to come back. That was yesterday. I saw him very clearly until around 1:00 PM. Then I lost him completely. I lost you at the same time. I was still able to see Emmett, until a while ago. Then I lost him, too."

I frowned at her. Why was life suddenly getting so complicated?

"I can't figure it out, either. Anyway, he's on his way back. At least, I think so." She started chewing on her lip. I couldn't believe it. Alice, cheerful, always optimistic, Alice, was worried. But then, she had never had any problems with her psychic vision before.

At that point, her cell phone rang.

"What's going on, Emmett?" I had never heard such anxiety in her voice.

"What? But how.......? Well, please keep me informed. I can't see Edward anymore. I don't know why. Let me know when you find him." Then she hung up.

When did nightmares start rolling in like tidal waves, I wondered, my head spinning. First Charlie. And now, Edward?

I grabbed Alice's arm. "What's going on? Tell me!!" My voice was hoarse.

Alice looked at me. "Edward _was _on his way back, Bella. But then, when he got to Seattle, he phoned Emmett. Told him something about some vampires that had been sighted there. Six of them. He didn't talk much. He asked Emmett to help him track them. So Emmett went up there to join him. But now Emmett's telling me that he can't find Edward........"

"No.......no.......," I breathed.

"Bella," Alice said, softly, "I'm very worried, too. But we'll find out what's going on. And Edward can take care of himself. You have to believe that. He loves you. He will come back to you. I promise."

I closed my eyes. "How can you promise anything," I asked bitterly, "when you can't even see him anymore?"

"Because he's my brother, remember? I _know_ him. I don't need to either see him or read his mind when it comes to you. He'll find a way to come back. You can believe that. Oh, and I can see Emmett again now. He's frantically looking for Edward."

I didn't say anything. I was too busy hurting.

"Bella?" Carlisle sat down on the bed. "I think you should try eating something now. You need to......."

I shook my head vehemently.

"Come on," he persisted. "You won't be doing yourself any good if you don't eat something."

Jasper walked in at that moment. He looked very pale, even for a vampire. Alice looked at him, and her mouth fell open.

But it was Carlisle who spoke first.

"What is it, son? What's going on out there?"

Jasper shook his head, muttering to himself. Alarmed, I sat up in bed.

"Jasper!" Carlisle got up. "Please tell us what it is!"

There was a wild look in his eyes. "Buildings.......they're.......disappearing......."

"What?!" Now it was Alice who sat up. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Jasper looked at her. "This morning, I went to the high school, to check things out. All the buildings were destroyed yesterday. That's what was reported in the news. But when I got there, there was nothing. _Nothing._ No rubble. It was like the buildings were never there in the first place. All I saw was grass and trees."

"Oh, my......gosh," Alice muttered.

We all turned to Carlisle. He usually seemed to have answers. And he was older than any of us, vampire or human.

But it was Carlisle's turn to look horrified and puzzled.

There was a short silence. Then he spoke. "This must have something to do with those vampires Edward said were around Seattle. It has to. But I don't know what the connection is."

Another silence. Then it was Alice who said something. "I think we need to find Edward, fast. He can probably tell us what this all means."

"But you can't see him at all!" I protested. "How will you be able to find him?"

Alice shook her head. "I don't really know, Bella. But we sure have to try."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4: Journey**

Carlisle had given up trying to convince me to eat, and had gone to look after the many patients who needed him.

Jasper sat next to me for a while, holding my hand. His unique talent had soothed me to the point where I was numb, which was fine with me. So I lay there, in a sedated daze, until I finally drifted off to sleep again. Alice wanted the three of us to be on our way, but she knew I needed some time to rest. Somehow, I had to get over the shock of losing my father.

When I woke up again, Alice and Jasper were sitting in a corner of the room, whispering. I had no idea how much time had passed by.

Alice's cell phone rang again. Still half-asleep, I turned my head toward the sound.

'Where? Okay, we'll meet you. Of course we have to bring her! Remember, I can't _see_ what she's going to do. What if they decided to come here, to the hospital? We can't risk losing her. You know what _that_ would do to Edward! But it would hurt me, too -- she's like a sister to me now."

Jasper broke in. "Alice........"

She gestured for him to be quiet, and tried to listen.

"Yeah. Sure. Don't worry about a thing. 'Bye."

She turned to Jasper, an annoyed expression on her face. I had never seen Alice get annoyed with Jasper. Never. However, my brain couldn't really process that at the moment.

"What is it?" she practically snapped at him.

Jasper smiled. She couldn't faze him. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that I think they have something to do with all the destruction, like Carlisle said. And I also think they killed Charlie. Bella may have been a target, too, except that she wasn't here at the time."

Alice frowned. "But wouldn't I have seen........?"

"Not necessarily, sweetie. Maybe that's part of their power -- blocking your visions."

I gulped. I knew that each vampire had a unique power, or gift. What Jasper was suggesting was simply mind-blowing. I didn't even want to think about it. And, at the mention of Charlie, I started to curl in on myself.

Jasper looked over at me, then got up. "She's awake now."

"Then let's go," Alice said firmly, walking over to my bed. "Bella, we're leaving. Come on, honey, let me help you up."

Both of them were at my side now. Jasper laid a hand on my forehead, and instantly, a mellow peace flowed over me. With their help, I was able to get off the bed. I felt lightheaded, and swayed a little.

"Bella, you really have to eat something now," Alice said, worriedly. I nodded silently.

"We can take her down to the cafeteria," Jasper said.

I didn't want to be around anyone but Alice and Jasper. If I ran into anyone I knew at the cafeteria, they would be sure to mention Charlie.

"No....cafeteria....," I mumbled.

"Let's just take her to a drive-through," Jasper suggested. "We don't have that much time, anyway."

Alice agreed. So we went straight to see Carlisle, who signed an authorization for me to leave. We walked through the lobby, toward the parking lot.

It was dark outside, and rainy, as was usual in Forks. I had lost all track of time. When I asked her, Alice told me I had been out for two days. I wasn't surprised. I still felt numb, but maybe that was thanks to Jasper's presence. I wasn't quite ready to deal with the horrible reality.

Alice and Jasper had gotten a fast car. Of course, it was anything bur inconspicuous. It shone in the moonlight like polished silver.

Alice went directly to the driver's side. Jasper would sit in the back, with me. i needed to be as stable as I could be, under the circumstances. But as I settled into the plush car seat, the tears started rolling down. I closed my eyes, and put my head back on the seat. Jasper offered to let me put my head in his lap, but I shook my head. I knew the sacrifice that would entail for him.

The engine barely made a sound as Alice started the car. She steered it smoothly out of the parking lot. It was a silent ghost flashing briefly in the darkness, to become one with it.

Alice took out her cell as she drove with one hand, and dialed.

"Esme? Anything going on? Where's Rosalie?"

She listened briefly as she drove, and then said, "Okay. Just stay in touch." She flipped the cell closed.

"Where are they?" Jasper asked, as I continued to cry silently. He reached over to me, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder, and peace blanketed me at once. I sniffed, turning so that my head rested closer to the window.

"Thanks, Jasper," I managed to whisper.

"They went to join Emmett, Jasper," Alice answered as she speeded along. "Still no word from Edward. That's not like him, not to let us know where he is, and what he's doing."

"This is something big," Jasper commented.

Alice snorted. "You're not kidding."

The car continued to speed out into the night, away from Forks. Away from life as I had known it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5: Speed **

As we flew through the night, I kept my eyes closed, trying not to think, to feel. But the images kept crowding in on me. I was at the Forks airport again, waiting for Charlie to pick me up. Then he walked toward me, and I could tell how glad he was to see his little girl, after such a long time. Being Charlie, he tried not to let it show. Then it was Edward's face, the very first time he kissed me. Mike's cute puppy-dog crush was obvious on _his_ face when he first said 'hello' to me, and Jessica's jealousy showed on hers. Angela. Jacob. Billy. Were they all gone now, just like Charlie? How had this strange, horrible event taken place? How could I stop their faces from tormenting me?

"No!!" I screamed, sitting bolt upright. Jasper immediately reached for me, but I pushed him away. "Get me out of here! i want to get out of here! Where's Edward?" I tried to pull the car door open, but Jasper restrained me easily.

'Bella, shhh....shhhh....It's all right," he soothed. "Just calm down now....you need to go back to sleep again....shhhh...."

His voice was like a drug that washed through my veins, and I felt the darkness descending, too powerful for me to resist.

I didn't sleep very long this time. It was still dark outside when I woke up again. I sat up groggily.

"Where....are we?" I mumbled sleepily.

"We'll be coming up on Seattle soon," Alice answered, from her place behind the wheel. I saw her glance back at me from the rearview mirror. "How are you feeling, Bella?"

I looked over at Jasper, who was staring at me with a wary expression. He was ready to calm me down again, if necessary.

"I guess....I'm sort of okay," I answered, wearily. Then my stomach rumbled. I know I must have blushed, because the corners of Jasper's mouth turned up in an involuntary smile.

Alice's laughter caught me by surprise. It seemed a lifetime had passed since I had last heard her laugh.

"I think the human needs some food, _pronto!_" She sounded relieved. She probably figured I was coming back to the real world. Except I didn't know which world I could consider the real one.

"There must be some fast-food place on the road somewhere," Jasper said.

Alice didn't answer, and her gaze flicked to the rearview mirror again. I saw her hands tighten on the steering wheel.

Jasper noticed, too. 'What is it?" he asked, too calmly, I thought.

"We're being followed," Alice answered tersely.

"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice going up an octave. Jasper shot me a look.

Alice said quietly, "I'm slowing down to a crawl. Let's see what happens."

A few heart-pounding seconds of silence followed as she slowed the car's considerable speed by at least 50 mph, then slowed still more, until she was barely doing 30. All I could hear was my own fast breathing during those very long seconds.

At last Jasper spoke. "Well?"

"Just as I thought," Alice's voice was strained. "They've slowed down to match our speed. If they weren't following us, they would have passed us. I'm going way below the speed limit now."

More silence followed. Then, to my horror, Alice announced something very surprising.

"I'm going to stop completely."

My first instinct was to scream, demanding to know if she was crazy, but Jasper silenced me with another of his looks. I could see his intense stare thanks to the moonlight that streamed into the car.

We waited for more heart-pounding seconds. Then Alice came to a stop, and opened the car door. Jasper tensed to do the same.

That was when the car behind us suddenly speeded up. I looked through the back window, and this time, not even Jasper could prevent my horrified scream.

"They're gonna ram right into us!" My voice rose and became a wail of fear.

But even before I had finished screaming, Alice had gotten back into the driver's seat, switched gears, and spun the car around, all in a blur of speed. We drove back the way we had come, hitting 90 mph in less than two minutes.

I got a glimpse of the other car as we flashed past it. It looked like some foreign model, similar to ours. I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been a Lamborghini or something similar. I was pretty sure, just from this fact alone, that there were vampires in it. Whether or not they considered themselves 'vegetarians', they all seemed to have a thing for flashy foreign cars.

Alice became a real speed demon, getting the car up to 150 mph. I was glued to the back of my seat. I felt like I was experiencing major g-forces. No one spoke. Alice, like Edward, had a liking for speed, and could handle a car superbly in spite of it. Not that this did much to reassure me -- my heart seemed to have temporarily take up residence in my throat.

We hurtled along madly. My ears roared, even though the windows were closed. I wondered when this nightmare would be over, when I would gratefully open my eyes, in my own bedroom, with Charlie knocking on my door, telling me it was time for school.

The car skidded suddenly. Alice turned the wheel, going with the skid. Then she abruptly swerved, driving off the road.

"What the heck are you doing?" Jasper yelled. Was his confidence in her driving disappearing? For that matter, was mine?

Alice didn't reply, but kept driving. Jasper said nothing more, looking out the rear window, behind us. For a few seconds, there was nothing to be seen. Then, a pair of sweeping headlights swung into view.

'Alice!" Jasper yelled. "They're right behind us!"

"Relax," she answered. I wished I knew where she was getting her calm demeanor from. I had already shut my eyes as tightly as I could.

Suddenly, she neatly drove right between two trees, and then swerved again. She seemed to be heading deeper into the woods.

"I don't think you'll lose them this way," Jasper observed, with some sarcasm. I was too frightened to say anything at all.

"Bella, do you think you can drive this thing?" Alice asked abruptly, as cheerfully as if she were suggesting a shopping trip into Port Angeles.

'Me?" I squeaked. I doubted whether i could do anything at all at the moment.

"Bella," Alice continued, "your life may depend on it. Think of Edward. Think that you want to keep yourself alive for him. Do you think you can drive, keeping that thought in mind?"

"But......what are you going to do while I drive?" I managed to say, through my rattling teeth.

"Alice, this is crazy," Jasper began, but she interrupted him.

"Hold on, Jasper. Bella, listen. I'm going to turn back to the highway, and slow down a bit when we get on it. I'll point the car in the right direction. Then you will take the wheel. Jasper and I will go after whoever is in the other car. You just keep driving straight ahead. Don't worry at all about us -- we'll join you once we take care of those guys. Your job is just to keep driving. I'm leaving my cell phone with you. If you get into any trouble, and we don't come back right away, just call Emmett. Okay?"

I nodded, trembling. Jasper used his magic touch again, and I immediately calmed down. I saw Edward's face in my mind once more.

We burst out of the trees and back onto the highway. Alice didn't slow down immediately, but when she did, I was ready. She looked at me, and, then, so fast I really didn't see it happen, she was out her window. I quickly slid over, straightening out the wheel. The car was now doing 20 mph.

I looked into the back seat, but Jasper was already gone. Swallowing nervously, I looked straight ahead again. I gingerly stepped on the gas. The car shot forward at once, the needle climbing to 90 in mere seconds. My heart pounded crazily. I had never been behind the wheel of such a fast car, alone. If Charlie could see me now........

I wiped a tear from the corner of one eye, and kept my eyes on the road. My night vision could not compare with a vampire's, but I figured that, if I kept going in the right direction, I would be all right. I slowed the car to 70, keeping it at that speed for a few minutes. Even that was a bit too fast for me, though, so I had to slow down to 60.

Then I heard it -- an unexplained thud. My heart jumped. It seemed to come from the trunk of the car. Next thing I knew. the rear window exploded into shards of glass, and something swooshed onto the back seat.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6: Joy Ride**

My hands started shaking so badly that I couldn't steer properly, and the car began to swerve from side to side. I didn't dare turn around to see what, or who, had gotten in through the shattered back window. Surely neither Alice nor Jasper would frighten me like that, I thought.

There were several moments of tense silence, during which I tried my best to straighten out the car, while my heart pumped madly.

"Just keep driving, that's it," drawled a deep, unknown male voice from the back seat.

My heart leaped into my throat. I could feel a fine sheen of perspiration starting to form on my forhead.

"Who....Who....are you? " I managed to stammer, after a slight pause.

'Me? Well, I'm somebody you're gonna get to know a whole lot better, sweetheart, unless you behave yourself."

I was so scared I could have fainted at any minute. On the other hand, I was very relieved that I hadn't been killed right away. Furthermore, _someone_ had to drive this fast, flashy, hunk of steel and rubber.

"Oh, and do try to keep this car moving in a straight line, will ya? " His voice was so unpleasant....the sarcastic tone grated on my nerves. "It's very irritating, to be weaving back and forth like this."

I really hoped this guy couldn't read my mind, because I was calling him every name in the book, plus some in Spanish ones that I'd learned recently, from a Mexican-descent classmate.

I took a deep breath. On second thought, I decided that I would feel safer if I could keep him talking, and thus, distracted. Hopefully.

"Are you kidnapping me? "

I could sense his cold smile. "Let's just say we're going for a little joy ride. "

"And then what? "

"You know, you humans are so darned inquisitive! You want answers to _everything_, don't you?"

"You have to admit, it's very frustrating not to know where we're going, " I pointed out, amazed at my own boldness. I could feel a vein pulsing in my neck. I wondered whether he could smell my fear. Probably so.

"You don't need to 'go' anywhere," he countered, angrily. "If I feel like it, I can make you pull over right now, and just drain you. I _am_ starting to get a little hungry."

I prayed I wouldn't end up fainting. I had made him angry! How stupid of me....

Neither one of us said anything for a few minutes.

"Well? " I could almost see his sneer, although the back seat was in total darkness. The moon had apparently ducked behind some clouds. "No more questions, _human_? "

"I don't see the point of asking any more, since you don't seem to want to answer them." My logic was elementary, but irrefutable.

"Oh, she has a sense of humor, too! But I wouldn't be so provoking, if I were you. Such a sweet, little appetizing thing....and the cause of so much trouble! Tsk, tsk! You _are_ quite appealing, you know, sweetcakes. Maybe I'll keep you alive a little longer, though. You're very easily cowed even though you try to pretend you aren't scared. Geez, I'm really enjoying myself here!"

Now _those_ remarks did get my dander up, but I knew better than to do the 'smart mouth' routine with a vampire, so I said nothing in return.

Suddenly there was another 'swoosh'. My eyes nervously jumped to the rearview mirror, but I still couldn't see much. I could barely tell that another person - a vampire, most likely - had now entered the car.

"I can't believe I have to keep an eye on you all the time, Edmund! Are you sure you're not going to kill her before Victor gives the order?"

It was a female voice this time, but just as unpleasant as the male's. I'm sure she had been a royal pain in the behind when she was human -- the type of girl we referred to in school as 'a Forks princess'. I could picture her perfectly manicured nails and over-endowed bazooms, and had to hurriedly stifle a giggle.

Fortunately, they were now so engrossed in their little tiff that they didn't pay any attention to me. I breathed out in relief.

The vampire named Edmund laughed sarcastically. "You're such a stickler for rules and regulations, my dear! Where's your sense of fun, eh?"

"I enjoy fun just as much as you do," she snapped. "But you know as well as I do that we have a chain of command."

"Makes no sense to me. What was the point of that little hurricane in Forks, if not to wipe her out of existence?"

"You idiot! You have no idea of the grand scheme of things! There's a plan, you know!"

"Are you going to make me shut up?"

Suddenly I couldn't take it anymore. I had to do or say _something_. I couldn't stand hearing them go at each other like rabid little dogs.

"I need to stop!" I yelled out.

"Why?" They both snarled at me immediately. Major 'oops'. Now I had their full attention. Well, I thought, here goes nothing....

"I think I've got a flat." It was lame, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

"A typical human lie!" Edmund's voice rose alarmingly.

"Really, Edmund, you _must_ get a grip," the female vampire whispered sensuously, loudly enough for me to hear. "I'll take the front seat. You stay in the back. She can't possibly get away from us. You wanted some fun, didn't you? Let's let her have her little charade."

I slowly braked the car, and came to a complete stop. Then I opened the door and stepped out, while the female slid smoothly into the front passenger seat.

I went to the left front tire and bent down, pretending to inspect it. I took my time, too, trying to think of something to do to try to escape. Even as I did so, I knew there was no chance. There were two vampires in the car. One would have been bad enough, but two? There was just no chance at all.

Straightening up, I walked over to the right front tire and squatted next to it, pretending to inspect it as well.

"Let's go, human!" Edmund growled menacingly from the back seat. Was it my imagination, or had his voice gotten deeper, rougher?

The woman laughed merrily. She seemed to enjoy toying with the male. "Edmund, darling, you really _should_ be used to their slowness by now!'

I straightened again, legs trembling, and sighed in frustration. I couldn't delay things any longer.

As my face rose to the level of the car windows, I got a good look at the female vampire. She really did fit the picture I had conjured in my mind.

Then I glanced into the back seat. Edmund snarled, baring his fangs at me, and the moon chose that moment to come out from behind the clouds. I got a very good look at him....and saw the familiar face of a vampire I knew and loved with all my heart.

That was it. I fainted immediately.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7: The Meadow **

I heard voices whispering nearby. I was awake, but didn't dare open my eyes. The image of Edward's hostile face suddenly appeared in my mind, and a pain such as I had never felt before hit me in the gut. Edward. That face.... the hatred so evident in his eyes.... I felt tears begin to slide down my cheeks.

"Bella, are you awake?" The voice was kind, full of concern. It was also male. And.... it was a voice I knew quite well.

I opened my eyes completely. Edward was bending over me. I screamed. And screamed.

"Bella, hush...." Kneeling beside me, he gathered me into his arms, holding me tightly. "Everything's fine. It's me."

I couldn't speak. I was crying much too hard for that. He continued to hold me, crooning softly to me, as I wept. Soon he was rocking me gently. I cried and cried. I didn't think I would be able to stop.

"Bella.... it's all right....It really _is_ me. You have nothing to fear."

His hands were moving up and down my back in reassuring caresses.

I hiccuped. His tenderly whispered words were beginning to register, although I still felt a little nugget of doubt.

Gently pushing myself away from his chest I stared at him. "But....I saw you...." I whimpered.

"I know, I know...." he answered. "That wasn't me, Bella."

"But....but....he looked....so much....like you...." He smiled. His eyes were warm with love as he met my own.

I reached up and tentatively stroked his face. "It _is _you, isn't it?" I know I must have sounded pretty silly, but this was too strange for me to take in.

He grabbed my hand, brought it up to his lips, and kissed the palm. His eyes continued to reassure me. Only Edward could look at me like that.

I sighed, and melted into his embrace. He enfolded me in his cold arms, resting his head on top of mine. But then I pulled back again.

He saw the questions in my eyes. "Everything's all right," he repeated softly.

Frowning, I looked over his shoulder. Then I saw them -- three vampires standing a few feet away, watching us. Among them was Edmund, the one who looked so much like Edward. My eyes filled up again when i saw him.

We were in a moonlit meadow, surrounded by trees that sighed softly in the wind. And yet, nothing looked quite normal. There was a soft, shimmering rainbow light around the moon, which seemed to be much too big. Every blade of grass, the trees themselves -- everything shimmered with rainbow light.

Edmund sneered when he saw me staring at him. "I could never understand you Cullens. Cozying up to humans like that." And he spat at the ground. He actually _spat_.

Edward bristled at once, rising to his feet. Turning to Edmund, he hissed, "You racist scum........."

My heart skittered. "Edward, you're obviously outnumbered here. Don't."

"Your little girlfriend is right," said the third vampire, another male. He looked a little older than Edmund and the female, who was the same one I had seen in the car. "You would be no match for us."

This third vampire now stepped forward, his face calm. His eyes, though, glittered with hatred.

We stared at him, both of us holding our breath. Without taking his eyes off him, Edward reached down to me, and gently pulled me up to stand beside him.

"Your love simply cannot be," the vampire said suddenly. "It's against nature. Humans and vampires simply cannot have romantic relationships."

"For that matter, neither can werewolves and humans", the female put in sarcastically, with a feral smile.

Edward began to snarl. I laid a hand on his arm.

The vampire turned to Edward. "The humans have nearly killed us off, in our time. That, as well as the mixing of vampire and human, has almost made us extinct. There are very few trueblood vampires left now, and the disgusting half-breeds rule our world."

"So what are you going to do?" Edward challenged.

The vampire smiled a cold, cynical smile. "We do not have to tell you our plans, weakling. Suffice it to say that we will not tolerate any more intermarriages between species, especially vampire and human."

Edward immediately thrust me behind him. "You will have to destroy me before you're able to harm her."

"Victor," Edmund's unpleasant voice suddenly interrupted. "Do we not have work to do? Why are we....?"

"Are you trying to question my authority?" The older vampire turned to him, then, glowering.

"No, I am not," Edmund answered, uncowed. "But we should...."

"We shall leave when I deem it necessary," Victor replied, cutting him off. "And you shall not dare to interrupt me again. I understand that you wanted the pleasure of killing the female human yourself, but there would be no -- shall we say -- 'poetic justice' in that."

He turned back to us, and I felt the full force of his hate-filled eyes on me. I shuddered, unable to look away. Edward tightened his grip on me.

Victor then shifted his attention to Edward, releasing me from those horrible eyes. "Explain to her," he ordered.

Edward turned to me. "We're in a....sort of....place between worlds -- ours and theirs. Everything here is in a state of flux. Things could go either way. Right now, you and I don't exist in our world. Edmund is me, who I would have become, if I had never met you."

Victor's harsh laughter interrupted. "Not quite accurate, weakling. It shall suffice for now, however."

I tried to ignore him, keeping my eyes on Edward. "But what about Alice?" I continued. 'Where is she? Where are all the others?" My eyes welled up again.

As if in answer, I suddenly saw Alice in my mind. Then I heard her voice, inside my head. _"Edward, where are you? We're trying to find you! Is Bella with you?"_

My eyes widened. I was shocked. I could actually _hear _Alice in my mind!

Edward smiled at me. Then, amazingly, I heard _his_ voice in my mind. "_Yes, I know, sweetheart. And I can read your mind now, too."_

"But how.......?" I spoke aloud before I was aware that I had even opened my mouth.

"Shhh," he cautioned me, very softly. "Not now."

I looked cautiously over at Victor. "What do you intend to do with us?" Although my voice was barely a whisper, I knew he would hear me.

He didn't answer, however, merely folding his arms across his chest. I noticed Edmund started to turn away impatiently, but the female immediately blocked his way, snarling.

Edward looked at me, and gently stroked my face. "They specifically want to destroy the two of us. It's because of Renesmee.......," he began.

"Rene.....who?" What did my mother have to do with all this?

Edward sighed, and held me very close, looking into my eyes. "We're going to have a daughter, sometime in our own future. Her name will be Renesmee. And she will somehow start a trend of intermarriage between species."

I took a deep breath. A daughter....that meant that Edward and I.... Happiness bubbled inside of me. Yet, the whole thing was very puzzling.......

"But what's the problem?" I asked, frowning up at Edward.

He sighed patiently. "You heard Victor, Bella. They're becoming extinct in their own time, which is a hundred years from now."

He paused briefly, then continued.

"Victor, Edmund, and Alison belong to an underground network that attempts to prevent human-vampire unions. And they have come to our time to make sure Renesmee is never born."

I could only stare at Edward, too astonished to say anything.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8: Challenge**

I couldn't believe this. I knew that certain vampires, such as the Volturi, felt nothing but contempt for us humans, killing us with no attempt at compassion. To them, we were nothing but prey. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that more 'traditional' vampires would not be pleased at the prospect of humans having romantic relationships with, and even marrying, their kind. The reason was very plain and clear: vampires who married humans were more likely to sympathize with humankind in general, and thus, would frown on drinking from them. This would very likely cause trouble, perhaps even a war, between those vampires who abhorred having to subsist by terminating human life, and those who didn't care that they had to do just that. Those who, in fact, _reveled_ in having to do just that...

But now my future daughter's life hung in the balance. And I wasn't even married to Edward yet!

I turned to this Victor. "Just how do you think you're going to prevent my daughter from being born?" I challenged him.

Edward turned to face him, as well. "How do you think you'll accomplish that?" he sneered. "You can't alter destiny!"

"Oh, but we most certainly can," Alison said, her voice slithering over my sensitive nerves. "You have no idea what powers we possess. They are far beyond your own."

"Then why is it that Bella and I are still alive?" As he spoke, Edward quickly pushed me behind his back, just in case.

"You do not exist at all, in your world," Victor drawled arrogantly. "You are mere shadows here, as it is. Fleeting shadows, that I could blow away with my breath."

Edward and I both stared at him, wondering whether he might be exaggerating. Not even the Volturi could lay claim to such power.

"But I think there's a far better way to ensure that Renesmee is never born," Victor continued. "Yes....a far better way. Edmund is especially fond of it, aren't you, my boy?" He turned to the younger vampire. Surprisingly, Edmund looked away, and then, standing up, walked out of sight.

"Well," Victor continued, turning toward us again. "Edmund may be having second thoughts now, but he was initially quite enthusiastic about the idea."

He paused. I knew he was doing it to build up the suspense, to draw out our discomfort. He was a true vampire of the traditional type, that mercilessly drank humans dry withou any qualms.

"We will see, Edward, how very much you really love your little human," he said slowly, savoring the words. His grotesque smile turned his face into a chilling mask. "You will be tempted to kill her, and you won't be able to resist."

Edward lunged toward Victor before I could stop him.

"Edward!" I screamed. But it was too late. Yet, in the middle of his swift lunge, Edward suddenly froze, and fell limply to the ground. Victor's hand was stretched out toward him, and the expression on his face was triumphant.

"You human-loving fool........" he said, drawing out the words in his most contemptuous manner. "How could you possibly imagine that you would be a match for me?"

Edward did not answer. He could not. His entire body was immobilized. Victor allowed his hand to drop, while his smile became even more chilling.

"Please release him", I whispered, staring directly at Victor. I knew he could hear me, of course.

His look of icy contempt was almost unbearable. Yet, it hypnotized me. Had he chosen to, he could have drunk from me then. I would not have been able to stop him.

I foolishly decided to take matters into my own hands. The opportunity came when Victor glanced toward Alison momentarily, thus breaking his spell over me. I quickly walked over to Edward and tried to shake him, but it was like trying to shake a huge boulder. I could not move him.

Victor looked over at me again, and began to chortle. "You humans are so _vastly_ amusing, after all........ Very well, I will release him now.' He slowly raised his hand in a commanding gesture. Edward moved, gasping.

I gently touched his shoulder. "Edward! Are you all right?"

He sat up, grinning at me in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "Bella.......you _know_ I'm fine! Are _you_ all right?"

I nodded wordlessly. We both turned to stare at Victor.

As if on cue, he said, "We are leaving now. Edward, remember this is the woman you love. Remember it well. There are no animals around for you to hunt here. There are no other humans, either. And neither of you can leave. This place is now sealed so that you cannot get back to your world, your time. The only one who can unseal it is Edmund, and he is leaving with us. You will be alone with Bella."

He paused meaningfully.

"The hours will pass, and you will get thirsty, Edward. _Very _thirsty... She will know when you become unbearingly so, because the color of your eyes will change... so very thirsty... and she is the only source of nourishment for miles around..."

"I never thought I would meet anyone I would hate more than Aro, but I guess I now have," Edward said bitterly.

"Good-bye, Edward," Victor said pleasantly. "Indulge yourself. You are, after all, one of us. You should never forget that. Perhaps you can be rehabilitated when we return."

"Rehabilitated?" Edward spat at him. "You sick, sadistic monster! If I do kill her, I will kill myself as well! I cannot live without her! Surely you must know that! I would never forgive myself!"

Victor smiled. "Oh, but you will, Edward. And you will most certainly _not_ attempt to kill yourself."

With that, he turned to go. Alison followed him. A soft mist abruptly appeared, engulfing them. When it had cleared, they were gone.

I was left alone with Edward.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9: Impasse**

We were alone. Edward stood a few feet away from me, a living marble statue, as flawless as Michelangelo's "David", and even more glorious.

Neither of us spoke for a long time. Only our eyes were eloquent in their anguish. Only our eyes sparkled with the poignant love we felt for each other.

A slight breeze stirred dreamily through the trees closest to us. Their leaves shimmered in iridescent splendor. Colors sparkled all around us, and for a moment, I was lost in the sheer beauty of the scene. The colors played upon Edward's pale skin like caressing jewels. My mouth opened involuntarily.

Edward's golden gaze drifted downward, and he stood helplessly, staring at the ground sadly. That was the only move he made. I felt like I was watching everything from a distance. I vaguely remembered reading something about that, about how there is a part of us that always remains calm, observing everything we do and experience.

How long would it be before his eyes changed color again, and my life was in jeopardy?

Finally, I couldn't stand the silence, the ethereal, multi-colored beauty of it all, anymore.

"Edward...." I whispered. He looked up, but not at me. Instead, his anguished eyes swept the entire scene, and he sighed. Then he started to turn away from me.

"Edward!" I hadn't meant to sound so sharp. I wasn't angry at him. I was simply afraid that he would blame himself for this, and try to push me away.

He hesitated only briefly, then began to walk away. My suspicions were confirmed. I quickly stepped over to him, and laid a hand on his arm. He stopped, but did not look at me.

"Please...." My tone was now pleading. "Please....talk to me. I can't stand this silence!"

He still didn't look at me. "Bella...." His voice was a hoarse whisper. "What do you want me to say? I will end up killing you. Then I wil have to kill myself, somehow. Let me go. Let me put as much distance as I can between the two of us. Maybe I'll be able to allow myself to die of thirst before I touch a single hair on your head."

His words chilled me to the bone, but I couldn't accept them as inevitable. Still, I remembered what Alice had told me about his disappearance.

"This is why you went off to Denali, isn't it? Were you planning to leave me, then?"

He did not reply.

"You were actually planning to _leave_ me?" I whispered unbelievingly, shocked to the core. I dropped my hand from his arm and stared at the ground in despair. Of course he had grown tired of me. I had known that this would happen someday.

Noticing my hurt expression, he finally turned to me, laying a soothing, very cold hand on my cheek. The look in his eyes was totally bleak, as well as bitter.

"Don't you understand, Bella? You've known me for a while now. Do you _really_ doubt that I could kill you, if I were thirsty enough?" His voice was so sad, so gentle, and as full of despair as mine had been just a few seconds ago.

He slowly caressed my cheek, and the pain in his face must surely have matched my own. "Never again doubt my love for you," he said suddenly, fiercely. "Never for a moment allow yourself to think that I don't love you! I can stand nearly anything but the thought that you might actually believe I don't care for you."

Then he brought his intoxicatingly beautiful face closer to mine, and his cold lips touched my own. I inhaled his sweet scent, and thought I would drown in it.

"I love you with my entire self, such as it is," he breathed upon my trembling lips. Then he kissed me.

I don't know when my arms wound around his neck, while I pressed his body as close to mine as possible. I totally lost myself in him, as he deepened the kiss, groaning his desire for me.

Abruptly, he ended everything, pulling away from me with a sigh, untangling my arms from around his neck. Bereft, I stared at him, through misty eyes.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he whispered, his own eyes moist, if that was possible. Or was it my wild imagination? But the sadness in them was genuine. "I keep testing my limits, and leading you on. I don't mean to do that. But it's so difficult for me _not_ to kiss you, not to hold you close....."

I sighed, too. "I wish it didn't have to be this way. But I really don't think you capable of killing me. Not if you love me this much. You don't give yourself enough credit, really."

He looked down, breaking the spell his eyes always cast on me, and shook his head. His face was once again twisted in pain.

"You don't understand, Bella...."

"Edward!" I couldn't help exclaiming. "It sounds like you're _resigned _to the situation! Isn't there something we can do?"

He shrugged slowly. "Well, we've never been presented with a problem like this before, have we? In the past, I've always been able to hunt, and I would only allow myself to be around you when I was sure the bloodlust wouldn't consume me. But there are no animals here. Don't you see? It's hopeless!"

He tried to pull away, but I restrained him. He allowed me to do so, of course. If he had really wanted to pull away, I could neve have held him.

"It might not come to that," I replied. "What about me? What will _I_ eat? I haven't had anything in _days_, not since Charlie......" Here I had to stop, as a fresh wave of pain hit me. I started to crumple, tears stinging my eyes.

Edward immediately grabbed me around the waist so I wouldn't fall down.

"I'm so very sorry, sweetheart....so sorry....

"How did you...." I muttered, as the tears started to flow. I allowed myself to sink into his hard, cold arms once again. He allowed me to cry unhindered, stroking my hair.

"Alice gave me the news, just before you arrived here," he explained softly. "I know Charlie was a good man, and a good father to you. I'm so very sorry about this, Bella...."

I couldn't reply, but instead kept sobbing into his shirt, heedless of any danger. He, too, seemed to have put any worries about killing me aside, for the moment.

A few minutes elapsed, until I simply had no more tears to shed. I began to lift my head, and encourntered those mesmerizing eyes.

"We really need to find a way out of here," he finally said, angrily, as he looked at me. "We have to find Alice, Emmett.....these vampires have to be destroyed. Oh, Bella.... I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to prevent Charlie's death!"

I pushed myself away from the comfort of his chest momentarily, and took a deep breath as I continued to look into his eyes. "You shouldn't feel guilty. You can't possibly be there every time somebody in the Swan family needs to be rescued."

I smiled weakly through my tears, my hands placed lovingly on his chest.

"Do you....really....think we can leave this place?" My voice quavered now.

"We have to try...." He lifted his hands to my face, and held it very tenderly, as he smiled at me. Then he groaned.

"Oh, my Bella...." His beautiful lips were suddenly on mine again, and his arms came around me, crushing me against him.

Then his lips left mine, and began tracing an intoxicating journey down my neck. I gasped.

"Edward...." I moaned, lost in him.

Then he was gone. I opened my eyes, totally stunned. He was standing just a few feet away, beneath one of the shimmering trees.

"I'm sorry!" He called out, and I had a moment of deja vu. I remembered that other meadow, how he had pulled away from me just like this, how he had sparkled in the sunlight. He shimmered now, just like everything else in this strange, magical place, that was at once so silent, so full of hidden menace.....

"There is another option, too, you know...." I whispered, as I stared at him.

He shook his head. "You know I'll never agree to that." He glowered at me now, from his place beneath the tree.

"Come on....you know we could survive together that way. You would never be tempted...."

"No. I've told you before -- absolutely...._not_."

A surge of adrenaline swept through me. I placed my hands on my hips as I yelled across to him. "Why are you being so stubborn? Don't you see that this _is_ the only option we have open to us now? Do you prefer the inevitable alternative?"

He said nothing. Then, taking a deep breath, he started walking back toward me. He stopped a few steps away, still glowering at me.

"Bella....do you realize that, if I were to change you now, we would never be able to have our child? You're supposed to remain human at least long enough for that incredible event to take place."

I crossed my arms, unconvinced.

"And do _you_ realize that, if you _don't_ change me, I won't be alive anyway? So I won't have this baby, then, regardless!"

He smiled. "Always my stubborn, spirited Bella! God, but I love you so much! Look, what we have to do is to find some way out of here. Then all of us Cullens can take care of this situation right away."

"What do you mean, 'all of us Cullens'? Are you forgetting that I'm supposed to become one of you someday?"

He laughed at that. "Bella! Tsk, tsk! Don't say that. Besides, it won't happen, not if I can prevent it."

I clenched my fists. "You're impossible! How do you suggest we get out of here,then, Einstein? You'll get hungry way before we can find an exit door!"

He ignored me, crossing his arms as I had done earlier. He was suddenly considering the problem.

"There has to be some sort of passageway...." he mumbled to himself. "Maybe in one of the trees. Maybe, if i push hard enough into the bark...."

"A hidden door?" I prompted, getting interested in spite of our unpleasant disagreement.

'Exactly," he replied, as he began running his hands up and down the trunk of one of the trees.

"Or maybe there's an underground passage," I suggested.

"Good thought," he replied. "Try feeling the ground around you. If you need to lift a rock, let me know. I'll do that for you."

I bent down and sat on my heels, touching the ground around me, pressing down on it, to see if anything would give way. I did this in a circle all around me, but found nothing promising. The grass and dirt were cool to the touch, and my fingers shimmered, too, as I felt around.

I looked up, toward Edward, but he was nowhere to be seen. I stood up quickly, and nearly fell down -- I was feeling very lightheaded now.

"Up here, Bella!" Edward called out. I craned my neck, and he was up in the branches of the tree that he had started investigating.

I sat down again. "Find anything?" I called up to him.

"No!" he called back down. "But I decided to take a look from up here to see what might lie around."

Before I could blink my eyes twice, he was standing in front of me once again.

"The landscape seems to stretch out for miles," he continued, in a more animated tone of voice. "I wonder if we can walk out of here, although we don't know where 'here' is."

"But Victor said that...."

'I know," he interrupted, "but he might want us to think that there's no other way out."

I sighed, taking another look around me. Everything looked the same -- menacingly still. It was totally unsettling, unnatural.

"You know, if you were to turn me, we'd be able to concentrate on that, without worrying that you might eat me!"

He shook his head, smiling.

"No more my beautiful, enchanting, human Bella," he whispered, as he suddenly pulled me toward him, and ran a hand softly through my hair. I sighed, turning my head to lay my cheek on his shoulder.

He moved his hand sensuously down my shoulder, until he had my hand enclosed in his own. I shivered deliciously at the coldness I would never get used to.

"Come on, let's see what we can find over the horizon," he said, in that ironically warm, melodious voice of his.

We began moving through the trees, heading toward more open country.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10: Telepathic Conference**

As we walked through the trees, I was once again struck by the total, eerie silence. Usually, when one walks through a forest or cluster of trees, one will hear birds singing, and the occasional rustling of leaves, as small animals move around. The only sound to be heard here was the frequent stirring of the breeze, which came from nowhere in particular. There was no animal or human life around, but the sense of hidden menace prevailed, nevertheless.

But I was with Edward, and, in spite of his misgivings, felt entirely safe. We continued walking through the trees, until we broke through the last of them, into a valley that dipped gracefully toward huge mountains in the distance. They, too, shimmered in the night air.

Edward took a deep breath. I couldn't help grinning. Was this part of my human influence on him?

"There's a river, up ahead," he said, squeezing my hand. "There must be a road near it. Perhaps we might even find a town or two, who knows? They might be deserted, but then again, they might not. I won't be surprised either way. I can carry you when you get tired of walking."

I smiled at him. "I'll bet you'd rather carry me anyway," I said, with a giggle.

He grinned back. "How well the lady knows my thoughts," he teased. "But I know _you _would rather walk under your power as long as possible, right?"

I sighed in an overly dramatic way, playfully batting my eyelashes at him. "Really, Mr. Cullen....what woman doesn't like to be swept away in her man's arms?"

"The future Mrs. Cullen _does _have a point there!"

I blushed fiercely. 'You know I'm too young to get married yet, Edward," I replied, although the very idea gave me goosebumps. "Besides," I added as I looked at him meaningfully, "I don't look forward to a future in which I'll be getting older every year, while _you _get to stay beautiful and young!"

"Well, all this is to be discussed, of course," he replied easily, as he casually swept a lock of hair off my forehead.

"Oh, Edward...." I sighed in defeat. I shouldn't have been surprised, though. I knew how very tenacious and yes, stubborn, Edward Cullen could be. Truly, the idea of marriage to him wasn't distasteful at all -- far from it. Just....not quite yet. And certainly not if I couldn't become a vampire, too. It would be sheer torture to grow old and wrinkled, and have people think that he was my grandson!

We kept talking as we walked, and soon the trees were behind us. We were approaching the river. Its water shimmered in the moonlight.

Just before we came to the river banks, the road appeared. It had been crudely fashioned, but it was a road, just the same.

It was then that Alice spoke in my mind.

"_Edward? Can you hear me?"_

_"Alice!" _I answered, once more struck with wonder that I could actually communicate with her in this manner. "_It's me, Bella! For some strange reason I can read minds now!"_

_"Bella!" _ She was understandably shocked. "_What's going on? This is incredible!"_

Edward broke in. "_Alice, I'm here with her. We're someplace between worlds. We were brought here by these vampires that I encountered in Seattle. They want to make sure that Renesmee is never born, or marries Jacob...."_

There was a short pause, and then Alice replied. _"Edward, what the heck are you talking about? Who's Renesmee, and who's Jacob?"_

_"Well,_ Edward replied, _"you don't know them yet. But I got a glimpse into the future from the mind of Victor, one of the vampires. Renesmee is our daughter -- Bella and I will get married -- and Jacob is a Quileute werewolf who will become a good friend to Bella, and later on...."_

_"Why is it I can't see any of this?" _Alice wailed, interrupting Edward.

"_I don't know,_" Edward replied sheepishly. _"But that's our future, and these guys want to keep it from happening."_

_"What I can't figure out is how Bella can hear me, and I can hear her. Can you communicate with her like this, too?"_

_"Yes. I have a theory about that. You see, technically speaking, we don't exist right now...."_

_"What? This is totally bizarre!!"_

I just _had _to break in again, when I heard that. "_That's an ironic comment, don't you think, Alice?" _I smirked.

I could hear her answering laugh in my mind. "_Well, comparatively speaking, Bella."_ Her chuckle came through, loud and clear.

"_Anyway, to continue before I was so rudely interrupted," _Edward went on, smiling his crooked smile at me, "_since we supposedly don't exist, we are in a state of flux, in which the mind becomes more powerful. Therefore, mind reading is now possible, even for those who have never possessed the talent before."_

_"Hmmm....interesting, but weird," _she observed wryly.

Just then I remembered my journey toward Seattle, which had been so unexpectedly cut short.

"_Alice! What happened after you and Jasper left the car?"_

_"'Well, we went to take care of the vampires in the other car. When we got to it, there were three of them waiting for us. We approached them cautiously. Then, suddenly, there were six of them, all around us, and all of them were mirror images of each other. All of them were male, too. They started laughing at us. And then, there were six more..."_

I couldn't help gasping in horror.

"_Jasper went into action, so to speak, at once. He blanketed the whole scene with peace and loving feelings. And you guys should have seen what happened! All of the vampires suddenly vanished, screaming in agony! And we were left all alone! So we went back to look for you, Bella, but, of course, you had disappeared...."_

_"Alice!" _Edward angrily broke in. "_How could you and Jasper have left Bella alone and unprotected like that?_"

I could hear the anguish in Alice's 'voice' as she replied.

"_I know, Edward. We took a calculated risk. But we would have seen any vampires moving toward the car, you know. And we didn't._"

"_Did it ever occur to you_," Edward observed, visibly trying to remain calm, "_that they might have had two of them already tailing the car?_"

There was silence for a few seconds. Then Alice went on, hesitantly, sorrowfully. "_I am so sorry, Bella. Edward's right-- we shoudn't have left you alone. But we're operating blindly in all this. The powers wielded by these strangers are far above our own! Edward, we're reduced to operating like humans! No offense meant, Bella._"

I shrugged, smiling. "_None taken. It's really all right, Alice._" I hoped my thoughts had a reassuring tone.

"_No, it's NOT all right!_" Edward's roar was deafening in my mind. "_Alice, how COULD you?_"

"_You can have my head after you get out of there, Edward,_" she promised calmly. "_But I think you'll both need some outside help in order to escape._"

"_So what do you suggest?_" Edward wasn't quite ready to forgive Alice; his 'voice' was still angry.

Alice's answering, resigned sigh came through very clearly. "_I think we should contact someone who can enter the unseen world with their mind. Someone like Luciano._"

I frowned at Edward, but he lifted a hand to bid me be patient. "_But won't that incur the wrath of the Volturi?_"

_"We have to chance it. He could help us tremendously, I think. Jasper agrees. He's seen what Luciano can do."_

"_Alice,_" I cut in, miffed that they weren't including me in their 'conversation', even though I was perfectly capable of participating, "_just who is this Luciano?_"

"_Oh, Bella, sorry! I didn't mean to exclude you. Luciano is a new member of the Volturi, but he's not that keen on staying with them. I've heard from reliable sources that he doesn't quite agree with their philosophy. He does want to drink from humans, but feels that it's not necessary to kill them. Instead, he seems to think that we should train ourselves to take only as much blood as necessary for our needs, leaving the victim alive."_

Edward snorted. "_That's completely ridiculous! He should know very well just how impossible that is! I tried it myself, years ago. This is the way of our nature. We must kill humans, if we drink their blood at all._"

"_Well,_" Alice continued, "_Luciano would not agree with you. He's already trying to convince some of the other vampires in Aro's group to give his idea a try. Aro has been indulgent with him so far, but I don't think his patience will stretch much further. Luciano might be very happy to help us out._"

"_Look, Alice,_" Edward replied, in a worried tone, "_the very last thing we need is to bring the Volturi down on us._ _Besides, Bella and I don't have much time. I'll start to feel thirsty pretty soon._"

Alice's tone changed, becoming overly eager. "_Jasper has just come up with a great idea, Edward. Together, we can influence your mind, which will buy us some time until we can get Luciano here._"

Edward frowned, considering. Then he shook his head. _"I could become very thirsty in a matter of hours_", he objected.

"_Hey, for what it's worth, I think it's worth a try,_" I broke in. "_How long would it take to get this Luciano guy over here?_"

"_Well,_" Alice replied, _"he really wouldn't have to come here physically. I can send him a message, since he can read minds, too. He might be appearing at wherever it is you guys are in no time at all._"

"_Would the Volturi become aware of this?_" Edward sounded unconvinced.

I could feel Alice's mental shrug. "_It's certainly worth a try, Edward. We don't want to lose Bella, do we?"_

"_That would only happen over my dead body,_" Edward said fiercely. He even gritted his teeth, as if he had spoken aloud.

Alice's merry laugh tinkled through our minds. It was wonderful to hear.

"_Don't be so melodramatic, dear brother! It won't come to that, I promise!_"

"_It had better not, Alice. Get a hold of Luciano as soon as you possibly can!_"

"_Take it easy, Edward! Now, first, Jasper and I will link hands, so that his influence can reach you. I will simultaneously link up with Luciano's mind, and try to convince him to help us. You won't hear that conversation, though._"

"_Alice,_" I came in, worriedly, "_won't that be too tiring for you?_"

Alice giggled. "_Don't worry about me, Bella! Just worry about not getting eaten by the big, bad wolf!_"

"_Very funny, Alice!_" Edward growled.


End file.
